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Trends in the certification process in Spain and Europe.
It is not a question that from this portal we have the key to the future in the energy certification process, but we can recognize, based on a new document issued by the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), the trends that possibly affect the certification process in Spain , and how the EU is making progress to demand greater regulation, effectiveness and practice of said document before member countries.
How European legislation from the EU has affected the certification process.
Note: The Energy Efficiency Certificate is designated: EPC = Energy Performance Certification. And to the Energy Efficiency Directive for Buildings (2010/31 / EU): EPBD = Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
Compliance with European regulations at the national level.
Once the certification system is formally carried out before the EU, the Member States must face and ensure an effective operation and compliance with the regulations. Since the implementation of Directive 2002/91 / EC, it has been shown that there is a large gap between formal and practical application. To break this point, in 2010 a mandatory requirement was introduced where sanctions were implemented for non-compliance with the guidelines before the certification processes, and we already saw in the article "How much will we pay for violating the energy efficiency directive" where we could observe that… «November 25, 2010: European Commission issued a reasoned opinion in which it was concluded that Spain did not adopt the obligations outlined in Directive 2002/91 / EC in its entirety " so we had to pay some costs.
The report outlines that the challenges identified in this regard by the member states are the lack of political support, the lack of an effective sanctions system, the lack of resources to enforce the implementation of a new system.
The effective application of the energy efficiency certification process largely depends on the enforcement and monitoring mechanisms. However, the criterion of success resides in guaranteeing sufficient resources for the application process, that is, legislative, financial, technical and human. The certification process should be seen as a useful tool and not as an additional administrative burden.
Global vision of the certification process in Europe:
Regarding lists of authorized technicians:
As identified in ART 17. (2010/31 / EU) … "Member States shall ensure that regularly updated registers of qualified or accredited experts or of accredited companies offering such expert services are made available to the public."
Most EU countries have centralized registries, in Spain or Italy it is by "Communities" but we can verify a trend at the national level, a national registry that must be remembered that the EU must be made aware of the registry and of their way of acting. And in Spain, each Community is a «free will»…. What will happen when we actually have to inform the EU about the registration?
Type of software used in Europe to calculate energy efficiency certificates:
Requirements of the on-site visit or inspection to issue an Energy Certificate in the case of existing residential buildings:
Control in the energy certification process:
Although in Spain the control and verification of the energy certificate has fallen on the Autonomous Communities, the control of the certification process at the national level is the one that has been imposed in most EU countries.
We once again recall that the EU must be notified of the type of control that is carried out, percentages of goods analyzed, how to apply the control … etc. We have fallen back into endless bureaucracy and unclear communication between the Communities and the Government that may have a negative impact…. Will there be a change of direction?… A central control? We have already observed that on the subject of the IEE - Building Evaluation Reports they have not made the same "mistake" and have implemented a centralized tool from the Ministry of Development.
On March 21, 2014, the European Commission services asked the Member States to report on the activity of the control systems independent using a common template. To date, 19 Member States have responded to the Commission's request. The results are presented in the following table, but … And Spain?… Where is it?
How much are the infractions in energy certification of the EU Member States.
Average energy certificate prices in the EU:
Certification Technician Accreditation:
Another trend that can be seen in the following image is that professionals from most EU countries must take an exam to be able to practice as certifying technicians. It is not only worth having a qualification enabled, knowledge is required and must be demonstrated before an exam.
How the energy rating will affect properties in the real estate market.
In this regard, the only serious report that we have been able to identify is found in England issued by theDepartment of Energy & Climate Changetaking into account the long tradition that exists in this country in the subject of real estate certification processes. As key points we can identify:
-Change in consumer behavior, the buyer / tenant has more information about the property, therefore it can more easily recognize its advantages and disadvantages when buying or renting.
- A sustainable market in construction is encouraged. Change in the mentality of the builder-developer in favor of more efficient constructions, the increase in the supply of new low-consumption homes and more efficient rehabilitation is stimulated.
-.Increased labor market.
-Change in political will based on consumer reactions. Energy Efficiency is valued.
-.As for prices according to qualification:
In most cases there is a clear relationship between energy efficiency and the age of the property -floors- as well as a positive association between the price per square meter and how efficient a property is. The main factors to consider in the price of the house are; location, size and type of home, but the price is influenced by many other attributes such as the condition and quality of the accommodation.
Compared to G-Rated Homes.
- Those rated F and E sell for about 6% more.
- Those identified with D, amounts to 8%.
- Those designated with a C grade, by 10%
- Those that amount to an A or B, with 14%
Regarding single-family homes, the dispersion is greater in relation to the G rating, although the association between the price per square meter and the efficiency of a property is lower.
-. Another point to highlight that they comment is theconsiderable variation in energy rating by region, type of property and price possibly taking into account the construction quality practiced over time according to zones.
* The above conclusions are based on 300,000 properties in England. And at the time we already talked about these consequences in the article … «The future of energy certification and its qualification«.
As conclusions to the certification process in the US:
- Need to constantly improve the implementation of the certification process plans in the Member States and to strengthen compliance monitoring, both in the Member States and at European level.
- Need to strengthen the role of the energy certificate in the context of national legislation, especially in the face of rehabilitation policies and programs.
- There is a need to introduce new quality control measures, especially during the early stage of the certification process.
- Need for guidance in the development of the databases of the energy efficiency certificate and centralized digitization.
- Need to promote the effective use of the data provided in the energy certificate.
- Lack of an exhaustive analysis of the effectiveness of energy certificates and determine their importance, both in the real estate market and in aspects of efficiency or reduction of CO2.
Access to the reference report Energy Performance Certificates Across The EU.
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